Day By Day
by Kamirose
Summary: When a con man is selected to save the world, will he carry out the dying wishes of Uriel Septim VII, or will he follow his own path?


**Last Seed 27, 3E433**

I'm in prison. Again.

Of course, that's not too unusual. I seem to find myself in these places a lot, and finding my way out usually isn't too bad – it's fairly easy to hide a few lockpicks, and if I learn the guards' schedules, it's easy to find a convenient time to sneak out. This time, though, the Gods seemed to be against me. I didn't have a lockpick on me when I'd been captured, so when the guards locked the door, I was stuck and forced to listen to the heckling of the Dunmer across the hall.

"Ooh, aren't you a pretty one, then? By Azura's star, I don't think I've ever seen a male with as feminine a face as you. And so pale, too – you'd almost think you were a Nord. Too small, though. You must be an albino."

I frowned, but kept silent. I had found a bone on the ground, and was trying to use a rock to split it to a thin enough shard I could use to pick the lock – prison locks weren't all that sophisticated.

"You're an imperial, aren't you?" the Dunmer continued. "I suppose the powers that be don't play favorites." He chuckled then, and something about the sound chilled my blood. This one wasn't right in the head. "I guess that bodes ill for you, doesn't it, Imperial? You're nothing but an embarrassment to them, so you're going to disappear."

Still trying to ignore him, I picked up a shard of the bone and walked over to the door. I could see him gleefully gripping the handles of the door, his eyes trying to see my reaction to his words.

"You're going to die in here, Imperial. I do hope I can hear your screams in the end – I wonder if they'll be as pretty as your face?"

I stuck the bone into the keyhole of the door. The position was awkward, especially since this wasn't really a lockpick, but it should work out, if I had the time to work at it. Apparently, though, I still wasn't in the gods' good graces. The telltale sound of heavy metallic footsteps announced the coming of some guards – several of them, from the sound of things.

"Here they come," the Dunmer said, slinking back into the darkness of his cell. I tried to pull the shard of bone from the lock, but it was stuck. I cursed, but there was nothing I could do. I backed farther back into the cell, hoping they wouldn't notice.

Of course, my luck wasn't about to improve.

Two male Redguards and a female Imperial stopped outside of my cell. Just behind them, I saw something that didn't make sense. That man was the emperor – I'd seen him a few times when he went into the city – but why would the emperor pay me a visit in my cell? I wasn't exactly a notorious criminal – all I'd done this time was try to pass off a few gold leafed lead coins as solid gold Septims. That wasn't exactly something the emperor had to be involved in.

The female guard, though, didn't seem to understand why I was in that cell – she didn't seem to care, either. She grabbed a hold of my improvised lockpick and yanked it out of the keyhole as one of the Redguards told me sternly, "Over by the window, prisoner. Stay out of our way. We won't hesitate to kill you if you interfere."

That was convincing.

The female took charge then, unlocking the door and leading the others in. Before they could do whatever they'd come here for, the emperor paused, looking closely at me. The intensity of his gaze was a little uncomfortable, but I stared right back. Sure, some people say it's bad manners to look royalty in the eyes, but I wasn't exactly in the best of moods at that moment.

"You… I know you," the emperor murmured. That was certainly news to me. Before I could respond, he added, "I've seen you in my dreams."

"In your… dreams?" I echoed. He simply smiled at me.

"I am your emperor – Uriel Septim VII. Assassins attacked my sons, and I fear I'm next. My Blades are leading me through a secret escape route – a route that coincidentally leads through your cell. It seems the Gods have placed you here so we can meet. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Tide," I answered automatically. Of course, that's not my true name, but I don't tell anyone my real name. Not unless I trust them – and emperor or not, I didn't really trust this guy.

"Tide – do you honor the Nine?"

Was this an interrogation now? "As they have showed me several times today, I don't think I'm exactly on their good side."

The emperor chuckled. "The Nine guide our path. All we can do is trust that they lead us in the right direction."

"Sire, there's no time. We must continue," the female Imperial said. She pushed a stone in the wall, and part of the wall simply slid away. I must have let my jaw drop – all that trouble with the stupid bone, and there was a passage way right here! – because one of the Redguards smirked at me and said, "Guess it's your lucky day. Just don't get in our way." Then the party disappeared down the dim passageway.

I glanced back out the front, and smirked in self-satisfaction as I saw the Dunmer had been gaping at the scene. I waved at him and said cheerfully, "It looks like it's time for me to disappear!" I chuckled at his expression as I followed the others down the stone tunnel.

* * *

The passageway was dark and narrow. I hate dark, cramped places. It didn't help that this was underground – thoughts of cave-ins filled my mind. Luckily, though, it was short, and I soon stepped into a properly built tunnel. By "properly built" I mean it was obviously manmade, square, with pillars to support the weight of the ceiling. I didn't have to worry that it would fall in.

It didn't take long before I heard shouts and the metallic clash of steel on steel up ahead. Armorless and weaponless, it wasn't a good idea to jump in, so I didn't approach until the last echoes of combat faded away. As I approached, I saw that the female Imperial was dead, with blood still oozing from a fatal wound in her throat. There were also three dead men in red robes with similar wounds. I assumed those were the assassins. Slightly nauseated, I looked away, turning towards the remaining two guards and the emperor. As one of the guards opened a door, the other turned to me and said sternly, "Stay here, prisoner. Don't try to follow us." Before I could respond, the door was closed. I heard the click of the key from the other side. Locked.

I glanced around the room. There wasn't any other way out. No windows, chimneys, air vents, anything. The lock on the door that the emperor had gone through was much too sophisticated for me to pick without the proper equipment. I quickly looked through the pockets of the fallen red-robed men. I didn't find anything useful except a few promising-looking health potions. I grabbed them, even though I hoped I wouldn't need them. After a moment of hesitation, I walked over to the body of the woman. I didn't like the idea, but she was dead, after all. Her blade, a katana, was in her hand, and the blood along its edge showed that it had been put to good use. I didn't feel right about taking that blade, though. One glance showed she had a second sword in her belt, a simple steel shortsword. I unbuckled that one and unsheathed it. The balance wasn't perfect, but it would do. I certainly didn't want to be ambushed by any more of those assassins.

No sooner than I had belted the sword to my waist did I hear the crumbling of some bricks. I turned around, fearing that the ceiling was falling in, when I saw two large rats bounding towards me. I easily dispatched them with my shortsword. The presence of those rats gave me hope that there was another way out of here – they had not come from the way the emperor had gone, obviously, and they hadn't come from behind me. I went over to the area of wall that had fallen in. There was an entire room through there; however, it was a natural cavern. I groaned. I had no choice. After taking a moment to compose myself, I stepped in.

There was one more rat that quickly met its end to my blade, a skeleton, and a dead goblin. A quick search of the room provided me with some basic leather armor, which made me feel much safer when I slipped it on. I continued through the tunnels, feeling my skin grow clammy as I imagined them getting smaller or collapsing. I ran into many more rats, several goblins, and a zombie during my trek through that tunnel. The rats had apparently already worked on the zombie, so it wasn't too hard to kill. I was glad, since I knew no magic, and a rusty shortsword wouldn't do much good against a fresh zombie.

After what seemed like forever, the caverns opened into the manmade tunnel, and coincidentally, I saw the emperor and his party in the room, battling with more of the red-robed assassins. The killers were quickly and efficiently dispatched. I figured it was safe, and I didn't want to be anywhere near those godforsaken caverns, so I jumped off the ledge I was standing on. I noticed too late that I still had my sword drawn.

The reaction from the guards was instantaneous. They both drew their swords and cautiously advanced on me, one of them muttering, "Kill him, he might be one of the assassins." I lifted my battered leather shield to defend myself, backing off, cursing to myself. The emperor said, "No, he is not one of them. Do not harm him." The room was tense for a long moment before the two obediently sheathed their swords, glaring at me suspiciously. "Come closer," the emperor ordered. "I'd prefer it if I didn't have to shout."

I wasn't about to disobey an order from the emperor with those two standing over me. I approached the emperor, and once again he started to talk about things I wasn't really able to understand. He said he could read his future in the stars, that his death was coming, and that he was fortunate to know exactly when he would die. He then asked me what my sign was. "The Shadow," I responded simply, not really understanding what difference it made. He nodded slowly as if that meant something to him, then motioned to his bodyguards, saying, "Baurus, this one will be coming with us."

The Redguard he had spoken to, Baurus, seemed reluctant, but obeyed. He handed me a torch and said shortly, "Stick close." We then went through yet another door to yet another room in this tunnel. This one was empty. "Hold up, I don't like this," the other Redguard muttered. He walked cautiously through the room, his weapon drawn. Nothing happened. The rest of us followed, then approached the gate. Baurus tested it, then cursed. "It's barred from the other side."

"There's a side passage over there," the other guard suggested.

"Worth a try. Let's go."

We crept silently toward the passage. It was a dead end, of course.

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps snapped our attention back out to the main room. "They're behind us!" the unnamed guard shouted as he rushed out to battle.

"You stay here, sire," Baurus said, then turned to me. "You stay here. Guard the emperor with your life." He drew his sword and ran out into the other room to join his companion, roaring, "For the emperor!"

The emperor turned to me urgently, saying, "I can go no further. You must take the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son." He pressed the amulet into my hands just as a hidden passageway opened behind him and an assassin slipped out, swinging a heavy mace at the Emperor's head. I didn't have time to react – the mace connected with a sickening crunch of bone, and the emperor collapsed like a ragdoll at my feet. I backed away quickly, drawing my shortsword. Not that I could do much with that puny weapon in this enclosed space. Just as I was about to try to slip through the gate back to the main room, Baurus charged in and killed the assassin with one strike. I stood slowly, shakily slipping my sword back into its sheathe.

Baurus's face was agonized when he saw the limp form of the emperor's body. He took several minutes to compose himself, murmuring about his failure to himself before going silent for several more minutes. Finally he stood, faced me, and in a slightly shaky voice asked me, "Where is the Amulet of Kings? It wasn't on his body."

"The emperor gave it to me. He told me to take it to Jauffre." I took it out and offered it to Baurus. I certainly didn't want the responsibility.

Baurus looked down at the amulet, but didn't accept it. "The emperor saw something in you. Perhaps it is because of the Septim's blood – they can see more than ordinary men. If he gave it to you, then it was meant for you."

The Gods _really_ weren't on my side today. "No, really-"

"Jauffre is the grandmaster of our order. He lives as a monk in Weynon Priory, near Chorrol." Instead of taking the amulet, he gave me a key.

"What's this?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"It's the key to the sewers up ahead. That's where we were going. There may be rats and goblins in there, but you look like you can handle them."

"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically. Now it was sewers. This really wasn't my day. "Any other instructions?"

Of course, he took the question literally. "Take no chances, but get to Weynon Priory as soon as you can. I'll stay behind to take care of the emperor's body and make sure no one follows you."

There was no way out of this. Of course, I had to get out of these dungeons, and this would be the quickest way out. I moved towards the secret passage that the final assassin had emerged from.

"Be careful," Baurus whispered as I moved past.

"Yeah," was all I said. After unlocking the gate in the other room, I lifted the grate off of the entrance to the sewers and climbed down the ladder, assaulted by the stenches that normally accompanied such places as sewers.

* * *

The sewers were relatively uneventful. The rabble of goblins and rats easily fell to my blade, and I finally emerged from the sewers. The bright sunlight stung my eyes, but they quickly adjusted. The first thing I did was strip off my clothes and armor and jump into Lake Rumare. The sewer slime, goblin blood, and prison dirt quickly washed off of me, as did the cramped feeling that had made me uneasy from the moment I left my cell. I had to be careful though – I couldn't stay out in the sun uncovered for too long. After a few minutes, I emerged, dripping and freezing, and rubbed myself dry with my sackcloth shirt before pulling my armor back on. From there, I was trudging back to the Imperial City.


End file.
